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Microfilaments interacting with heavy meromyosin and deoxyribonuclease I in cells of the ovarian follicle of a lizard

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Summary

Two types of filaments (microfilaments 4–6 nm in diameter, and intermediate filaments 7–10 nm in diameter) are common in the surface epithelial cells and theca fibroblasts of vitellogenic ovarian follicles of the lizard Anolis carolinensis. Heavy meromyosin (HMM), which forms complexes with actin filaments, interacts only with the microfilaments of theca fibroblasts. After myosin extraction of follicles no filaments disappeared, but when this treatment was followed by incubation with deoxyribonuclease I (DNA-ase I), which depolymerizes F-actin to G-actin, microfilaments disappeared from the theca fibroblasts. It is concluded that microfilaments in theca fibroblasts are actin-like and may contract to provide the mechanism of expulsion for the oocyte during ovulation. The intermediate filaments of the surface epithelial cells and theca fibroblasts may serve as a skeletal system for the large (up to 8 mm in diameter) vitellogenic follicle.

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Author notes

  1. Laura J. Laughran

    Present address: School of Medicine, Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, 98195, Seattle, WA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Laura J. Laughran, John H. Larsen Jr. & Paul C. Schroeder

Authors
  1. Laura J. Laughran
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  2. John H. Larsen Jr.
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  3. Paul C. Schroeder
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Additional information

This investigation was supported by grant HD-12499 from the National Institutes of Health. We are indebted to James D. Huber for able technical assistance and to Ralph G. Yount for the rabbit muscle HMM. Thanks are due Howard L. Hosick and Rodney A. Mead for their constructive comments and criticisms of the manuscript

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Laughran, L.J., Larsen, J.H. & Schroeder, P.C. Microfilaments interacting with heavy meromyosin and deoxyribonuclease I in cells of the ovarian follicle of a lizard. Cell Tissue Res. 218, 537–545 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00210113

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00210113

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